


The Long Way Home

by TOG84



Series: Aftermath [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Identity Reveal, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reunions, new identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 09:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17020026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TOG84/pseuds/TOG84
Summary: After years of fighting Hawkmoth, the Heroes of Paris have finally uncovered his identity and launched a plan to capture him and reclaim the butterfly and peacock miraculous. They retrieved the miraculous, but Gabriel activated his damaged security system unintentionally destroying the manor and severely wounding Chat Noir.Three months later Marinette and her friends, with one prominent absence, plan to celebrate Christmas together, though their friend might not be as lost as they had thought.





	The Long Way Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Secret Santa gift for [missdeearts](http://missdeearts.tumblr.com/)! I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Thanks so much to my editors [Bluetreeleaves](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluetreeleaves) and [whimstories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimstories)

The chill wind of December nipped at my nose as I got out of the cab, causing me to cover my face with my scarf and bundle my coat more tightly around me. The streets were bustling with christmas shoppers trying to get those last minute gifts. My heart skipped a beat as I caught sight of my destination: The Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. She was there. My Lady, the only woman my heart had ever loved, though it was confused for a while there, thinking that she was two people. The thought brought a smile to my face. How blind I had been. Of course it was her.

I walked down the street, dodging other pedestrians as I went. I tried to keep an even pace, but before I knew it, I was almost jogging, only to be stopped dead in my tracks as I reached the door to the bakery.

There she was; just the sight of her took my breath away. She was helping customers at the register, greeting each one with a kind smile. But there was something in her eyes; the smile was as fake as the one I wore in front of the cameras.

It broke something inside of me. I knew the last few months had been hard, but I never expected them to be weighing on her like this.

_I stared up at her through my one good eye, the other swollen shut. She was crying. She cradled my head in her lap as, with one hand, she called her lucky charm. I tried to reach out to her, to comfort her, but just the thought of moving hurt. A very familiar jewelry box fell into her outstretched hand._

_After looking around briefly, her eyes landed on my ring. She took a deep breath and threw the box into the air, “Miraculous Ladybug!”_

_Ladybugs washed over the scene… but nothing changed. Pain still stole every breath I took. I still could only open my left eye, but even that was difficult. She looked down at me, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. She grabbed my right hand and looked directly into my eye._

_”I’m going to need to take your ring,” her voice broke as the first tears began to fall. “You need medical attention, and no one can get their hands on it.” She looked at the wreckage that once was my home. “I hope he wasn’t in there,” and the tears fully broke her. When she regained enough composure, she turned back to me, “I’ll keep this safe for you, you can get it back when you’re well again. You should be able to find my house okay, you’ve visited my balcony enough.”_

_Realization washed over me with those words. My Lady was a girl I’ve visited on her balcony on more than one occasion, and that only described one person. “Marine…” the name was cut short by a fit of coughing that ripped its way through my chest, racking my body with fresh searing pain._

_”Shhh, Kitty,” she stroked my cheek, “we can talk later.” She gently slid the ring from my finger. As the magic washed over me, the pain doubled and I could barely hold onto the treads of consciousness. “Sleep now Kitty, I’ll make sure you get the help you need.”_

It had been three hard months. A grueling three months of surgeries, recovery, and physical therapy. Shrapnel from the explosion had all but destroyed my face. The surgeons were able to put me back together, but no one, including me, knew who I was for that first month. I was given a new face. When I finally did remember, I was glad for the opportunity to escape the life my father had built for me. With the help of a certain Chinese tutor, I worked to say goodbye to the old, and step into this new identity.

I hoped that re-entering her life now could do something to bring the life back into her smile. I opened the door to the bakery and made my way inside. I browsed around, waiting for the right moment.

I approached the register when the last customer left.

“Good afternoon,” Marinette greeted me with that damned fake smile, obviously not recognizing my reconstructed face. “How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for something very specific.” I leaned on the counter, cocked an eyebrow and sent my best cheshire grin.

“And what would that be, sir?” She ever so slightly leaned away from me.

“I think you’re holding something very important to me.” She paused in confusion allowing me the opportunity to lean closer. “ _Purr_ -incess...” I put as much bravado into that one word as I could muster. Her eyes grew wide and I could practically see the pieces fall into place in her mind.

“Chat?” It was barely a whisper, but I was close enough to pick up the slight tremor in her voice. I straightened my posture.

“The one and only,” I took her hand and bent low over it, “My Lady,” I purred and brushed my lips across her knuckles.

A small gasp escaped from her mouth before she slowly pulled her hand to her chest. “It really is you.” A light ignited behind her eyes only to dim as she squinted in confusion, “Your face isn’t quite right…”

I stood straight up and brought my hand to my heart putting on my best pained face, “You wound me _Purr_ -incess.” The giggle that escaped her lips was more than I could ask for. _My Lady appreciates my humor._

“Silly kitty.” She didn’t even try to hide the smile on her face. “I just mean you look different. Were you hurt that badly?”

“Some reconstructive surgery was needed, and no one had a picture of me from beforehand.” I brought my hand up and scratched the back of my neck. “I didn’t even know who I was until a month ago.”

“Oh kitty! I’m so sorry!” The remorse I saw in her eyes was enough to stop me in my tracks. “I should have been there for you,” she crossed the space between us and threw her arms around me, “I could have helped! I shouldn’t have have been here wallowing in my own loss when you needed me!”

“There is nothing you could have done.” I carefully wrapped my arms around her. “The doctors said you came by a few times early on. They said when you checked up on me you also asked about any other survivors of the explosion.”

“Yeah…” She pulled away enough to look up at me, never breaking the embrace. “I was looking for…” bit her bottom lip and looked away, “I was looking for, _him_.”

“You mean the guy you said you like?” that caught me off guard, why would he be there? There weren’t many civilians near the mansion when it exploded. “Why would he have been there?”

“He lived there.” She looked back up at me, tears once again building up in the corner of her eyes. “That was his house. They’re saying… they’ve…” and then she couldn’t hold back anymore, the tears began to flow down her cheeks as she buried her face in my chest. “He’s dead,” she sobbed, “Adrien is dead and I couldn’t save him!” She gripped the front of my shirt as if holding on for dear life. The revelation that this girl, one of my closest friends, had been harboring apparently unrequited feelings for me for so long was almost too much. I tighten my arms around her, giving her as much support as I could. My head was reeling.

“Adrien?” I couldn’t believe the absurdity of the whole thing, “Adrien Agreste was the boy you rejected me for?”

“I’m so sorry, kitty.” She looked up at me, tears causing her makeup to run down her cheeks. Just then a chime reminded us that we were in fact standing in the middle of a still open bakery. Marinette wiped her eyes, and turned to the slightly uncomfortable looking customer. “One moment please, sir,” she turned to the door to the kitchen, “Maman,” she called. “I need to go upstairs. Can you take over the front for me?”

Out of the kitchen walked Sabine Cheng. “Of course, dear.” She wiped her hands with a towel. “Oh, you have a guest!” She looked me over, and stepped up to me, holding out her hand. “Hello, young man. I’m Sabine, Marinette’s mother.” As I took her hand she pulled me close and quietly in my ear said, “It’s nice to see you again Chat Noir.”

I was shocked; how did she know it was me? Does she know about Marinette? I was once again thrown for a loop. Marinette gently lead me up the stairs to the family apartment above the bakery. She ushered me into the living room and lead me to that couch. We sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, never letting go of our hands. She was the first to break the silence.

“I know you have feelings for me,” she looked down at our clasped hands, “Well Ladybug…”

“You are Ladybug,” I cut her off, “ and I’ve had feelings for Marinette too.” She looked up at me, her eyes wide with surprise. “I just never admitted it to myself.”

Her expression softened into a sad smile, “And I think I’ve had feelings for you too, kitty.” My eyebrows shot up at this revelation. “But I was in love with Adrien,” the tears began to well in the corners of her eyes again, and her voice was strained, “and it might take some time for me to get over that.”

“ _Purr_ -incess,” with my free hand I caressed her cheek, “I would wait until the end of the world for you.”  
She leaned into my hand and smiled briefly. She brought her free hand up and held my hand on her cheek. For just one second I saw the smile fade, and the utter pain I saw behind her eyes shot a lance right through my heart.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t take that long.” She held out for a few more seconds before the tears once again look over. She crumpled into me like a leaf. She clasped my palm between her hands and clutched it to her chest as she sobbed into my shoulder. I brought my other hand around her to provide as much comfort as possible. 

“Marinette,” I said softly, gently rubbing circles on her back with my free hand. “What if, Adrien Agreste did die that day…” I paused, searching for the right word. “But the person who was Adrien lived on?”

She looked up at me, brow furrowed and mouth slightly open. “What are you trying to say, kitty?”

“Well…” I looked around the room, too nervous to make eye contact. “Do you realize, you haven’t asked me what my real name is?”

“Oh my god!” Her eyes blew wide as she brought both hand up to cover her mouth. “I’m so sorry, kitty.” She put one hand on my shoulder and the other stroked my cheek. I couldn’t help but lean into her touch. “I’ve known you as Chat Noir for so long, as both sides of myself,” she dropped her hands to her lap, “I guess I forgot that there is more to you than that.”

“To be fair,” I reached out and patted her hand, “unlike you, I felt like I was taking my mask off when I put on the suit.”

“So let’s start over.” She held out her hand. “I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, also known as Ladybug.”

I took her hand, “My name is Adam Alexandre, also known as Chat Noir.” When she tried to break the handshake I held on, “Though the records show otherwise, that hasn’t always been my name.”

Her brow furrowed in a mixture of shock and surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that a certain mutual friend of ours helped me to create a new, well, me.”

Marinette’s eyes went wide.“And what you said about the person who was Adrien?”

“My name is _now_ Adam Alexandre, do you notice anything familiar about my initials?”

I wasn’t sure it was possible, but Marinette’s eyes grew wider, “Adrien?” Her lips barely moved, her voice was soft, barely audible. She brought her hands up and held my face. She turned it slightly side to side, analysing every inch. Her eyes were still saucers as she went about her investigation and she mumbled unintelligibly under her breath. After a few moments of this, her face transformed. Her brow knitted together slightly, but her lips spread in a wide grin. That light in her eye that had been missing before, shone brighter than ever. “Hello there,” she spoke softly with a fondness only she could hold.

“Hello to you.” I leaned toward her ever so slowly. “I’m sorry I’ve been away so long, and I’m sorry I caused you so much pain.”

She sat up straight, eyebrows furrowed and mouth stretched into a line. “Yeah,” she poked me in the chest with her index finger, “what took you so long?” she added another poke for emphasis. “Why couldn’t you have come to me earlier?” Her expression softened, loosing it’s mocking edge only for it to be replaced with a slight sadness. “And why did you have to change your face? Your face was perfect.” It took her a second to register what she had said, her eyes went wide and her mouth fell slack, “Not that you’re not handsome now! I mean you are. Still handsome that is. And it’s not like I loved you for your face. Cause I didn’t. I love you for what’s inside, and…” I cut her off the best way I could think of, with all of her declarations of love. I leaned forward cupped her cheek with one hand and took her lips for my own. She stilled for a second before her posture melted and she returned the kiss. She slid one hand up my arm to my shoulder, and brought the other to the back of my neck, teasing my hairline. After a moment of bliss in her arms, I reluctantly pulled away.

“I’m so sorry. When I woke up I really didn’t know who I was or what was going on,” I began explaining, hoping I could mend what damage I had done and start our relationship right. “It took a few weeks for the memories to start coming back.” I sat up straight, her hands trailed down my arms until she was holding both of mine. “You were the first thing I remembered, you know?” She smiled softly at me. “Your black hair, your blue eyes, your bravery, your kindness, the smell of the bakery that always hangs around you…” her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Wait, you mean Marinette me,” she put a hand on her chest, “not Ladybug me?” 

I chuckled. “To be fair, _Purr_ -incess, they are one and the same.” I gave her a cheshire grin and wiggled my eyebrows, earning me a scowl and a playful shove. “But yes, I mean Marinette you. You have always mattered a lot to me. Even more than Ladybug, it would seem.” I softened the playful smile trying to convey everything I felt for this amazing woman sitting in front of me. “Eventually, Master Fu came to visit me. He helped me get my memory back, and he helped me create this new life.”

“He helped you make a new identity?” Marinette's surprise was written all over her face, “I wouldn’t expect him to know how to do all of that.”

“Apparently, if you live hundreds of years,” I shrugged “you pick up a skill or two. So, he helped me move around some funds discreetly, put together all of the legal paperwork, even created the papertrail to make it all more legitimate.”

“Wow! It takes a lot of work to become another person, huh?” Marinette looked dazed.

“Yeah, it wasn’t easy.” I shook my head, “But once it was done, I just had to figure out the best way to approach you.” I smiled at her, “That was the scariest part really. I wasn’t going to tell you about who I was…” I hesitated. “You know, before. But seeing how hard it was on you, I couldn’t leave you like that. Not when I had the ability to fix it.” I gently placed my hand on her shoulder, “Master Fu told me about the gathering you all were planning for tonight, so I decided I couldn’t wait any longer.”

Marinette shot up, eyes blown wide with a loud gasp, “That’s tonight!” she frantically looked around, “what time is it?”

I glanced at the clock behind her, “5:30, well a little after.”

“We need to get ready!” she jumped up, “If you’re going with me we’ll need to leave in an hour, and I need to shower, and change, and do my hair, and you need to get ready, too...”

I stood and gently, but firmly, grabbed her shoulders. “Calm down, I’m already ready, and there is plenty of time. Why don’t you go get your shower?” I paused, not sure how to ask the next question. “But first, there is someone else I’d really like to see.” Marinette looked at me confused, “You know, black, about two inches tall, loves cheese…”

Her eyes grew wide as realization dawned on her, a huge grin replacing the confusion. “Plagg is going to be so happy to see you!” She grabbed my hand. “Come on!” She practically dragged me up the stairs into her room.

“Hey, Marinette,” a small, high pitched voice greeted us as we entered the room. “Are we going to go find that no good chosen of mine, or wha…” His voice cut off as he caught sight of me coming up behind Marinette. “Kid! You’re alive!” He shot over to me, nuzzling his face against my cheek. Marinette giggled softly at his antics. “Don’t you ever do that to me again! Do you understand me?!” 

“Plagg!”I raised my hand to pet him as he continued to nuzzle me. “I missed you too, and I will do my best to make sure it never happens again.”

“Oh, everyone is going to be so happy to know you’re alive!” Marinette was practically shaking with excitement, and I hated that I had to be the one to douse it. I stilled and took her hand, holding her gaze.

“Mari, no one else can know who I used to be.” I poured everything I could into my earnest expression, begging her to understand. “I can’t be him any more! I want nothing to do with the Agreste name, it brought me nothing but grief.”

“But Adri…”

“Adam,” I cut her off, “My name is Adam, please don’t call me that any more.”

“Okay,” she looked at me with a mixture of sadness and concern in her eyes, “Adam, why did you tell me if no one could know?”

“You probably would have figured it out any way,” I gave a half hearted smile, “I mean, if you would have me, you would have.” I looked anywhere but her eyes. “And seeing you so upset over me, i couldn’t let you stay like that.”

“Oh Adr-” she caught herself, “Adam. With you, Chat you, back, I would have recovered.”

“I don’t think you understand how bad it looked, Mari.” I looked her straight in the eye, my eyebrows raised, trying to express how serious I was. “You weren’t you, you looked broken. Like the light in your eyes had been turned off..”

She chuckled, trying to brush it off. “I think you’re being a little over dramatic, Kitty. I always had a smile on, and no one else seemed to notice a thing.” 

“I know a fake smile when I see one,” I said, cocking an eyebrow at her. “I’m the king of putting on a happy face even though you feel dead inside. Why do you think I’m so eager to get away from any trace of my father?”

“Oh,” she took a step back, as if my words had physically hit her. “I thought it was because of Hawkmoth…”

“That is just the tip of the iceberg.” I shook my head, “You didn’t see all of the things that man put me through. I wasn’t being overly dramatic when I came to you complaining as Chat.” I closed the distance between us and took her hand. “Out of the mask, I tried to protect you from it because I knew how much you looked up to him, and didn’t want to ruin that for you. And it only got worse as the years went on.”

“Oh no, Kitty!” She looked on the verge of tears again. “I wish I had known, I would have…”

“It’s okay now.” I pulled her into a tight hug. “I know you would have tried everything you could to protect me.” I pulled back to look her in the eyes, “Now, you should go get ready, and I’ll have a conversation with Plagg here.”

“Okay, you’re right.” She nodded and started toward that bathroom. “Oh wait,” she stopped and turned, clutching something under her shirt. “You’ll be needing this back.” She pulled out a silver chain that held a very distinctive silver ring on it. She held it out to me with a coy smile, “I kept you next to my heart.” as I took the ring, she giggled and dashed to the bathroom.

“You weren’t wrong about how bad she took the whole thing,” Plagg commented from my shoulder. “In fact I’m not sure how long it’s gonna take her to fully recover.”

“It’ll take some time, that’s true,” another kwami, who I had not yet met, floated into view. “Hello, Adam, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Tikki, Marinette’s kwami.” She had an odd look on her face. “I always thought I’d be saying a different name when I said that.”

“I’m sorry, Tikki.” I held a hand out to the red and black kwami. “I know this isn’t how any of us wanted this to happen.” The kwami flew over and put a little paw on my finger. “But this is the way it had to be. I need to be someone else.”

“Yeah, kid.” Plagg reached a paw over and patted my head. “I get needing a new name. I don’t blame you for wanting to put as much distance between you and your family’s past as you can.”

It was at that point that that I remembered the interaction with Sabine. “Tikki, how much do Marinette’s parents know about us?”

“Oh!” Tikki looked sheepish, “You spoke with her, did you?” I nodded. “It would seem she knows everything, has for a while. After the battle, she went to tell her parents about being Ladybug.” She flew over and sat on Marinette’s desk. “Turns out they had figured it out.”

“What?!” I stumbled back, “How? She knew I was Chat.” I ran my hand down my face. “Do you think she knows who I was?”

“To be honest,” Tikki fidgeted, “I wouldn’t be surprised.” My squirming must have given away my discomfort. “But she may never say anything about it.”

I sat down in the desk chair. “Well, that’s a relief then.”

We spent the rest of the time waiting for Marinette to get ready exchanging small talk, catching up on what she had been doing while I was away, which turned out to not be much at all, and what I had going on, which was all up in the air, hinging on what happened tonight.

The moment I saw Marinette step out of her bathroom, the air was ripped from my lungs. She was stunning in a red long sleeved, off the shoulder sweater dress that fit her form perfectly. She wore white tights that looked warm but still stylish. She had black leather high boots that came almost up to her knee, and her hair was up in twin buns instead of the pigtails.

“Wow…” was all I could say.

Color filled her cheeks and she grabbed the cuffs of her sleeves and stretched her arms down in front of her. She bit the side of her bottom lip and twisted the toe of one boot on the ground. “Like what you see?” she said quietly, looking at me through her eyelashes.

My throat was suddenly dry and my head was swimming. I shook my head once. “You look gorgeous.” 

“You’re not so bad yourself, Adam” She smiled sweetly. A warmth spread in my chest and my smile widened when she chose to use my new name.

“Well,” I stepped up next to her, “Shall we, Milady?”

“Let’s shall” we both looked at our Kwamis.

“Tikki.”

“Plagg.”

“Spots on!”

“Claws out!”

It was exhilarating to be in the suit again after so long. I looked down at my clawed hands, flexing and testing them. I stretched my arms and did a couple of squats. It fit perfectly like always. 

I straightened back up and took Ladybug’s hand bowing low over it to place a kiss there.

“I never thought I’d say this,” looking into her eyes as I stood up, “but you look better out of the suit.” I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. The blush that colored her cheeks was more than enough reward.

I gestured to the trap door. “After you, Milady.” She gave me a shy smile and headed up the steps and out the door. As I closed the hatch behind us I heard a small giggle. As I was turning, intent on seeing what was so funny, Ladybug, standing right in front of me booped my nose with her finger.

“Tag,” she said with a broad grin, “You’re it!” And she bounded away.

I vaulted after her and we ran, chasing each other across the rooftops of Paris. It was a thrill to be doing this again. It was made even better that I knew who the girl I was chasing was behind the mask, and that she loved me back. 

We eventually ended up on a rooftop across from a restaurant. Ladybug had landed and was looking down at the entrance. I landed next to her.

“We’re here.” Her eyes look slightly sad. “They’ve all been taking your loss so much better than I did.”

“To be fair,” I put my hand on her shoulder, “they weren’t in love with me.”

That got a small smile. “I may have not treated them as well as I should have.” She wrung her hands, “Do you think they will hate me?”

“Never!” I turned her to face me and held her shoulders. “They know you were having a hard time. I’m pretty sure they knew about your feelings for Adrien. They’re not gonna hold it against you. I’m sure they just want to make sure you’re okay.”

She smiled softly, “You’re probably right.” She looked up at me through her eyelashes. “There’s one more thing I need to do before we go.”

I gave her a lopsided grin. “And what would that be?”

She grabbed the bell at my collar faster than I could think. “This.” She pulled me down into a sering kiss. It was brief, like the one we shared on the couch, but much more passionate. All too soon she pulled away and quickly shifted her hand to push me away by my nose. “Time to go, Kitty.”

I stumbled back and shook my head, trying to clear it. “Or we could skip it and do more of that.” My head still swimming, I gave her what I hoped was a sly grin, but judging by her giggle, I only managed to a dopey smile.

“We’ve got plenty of time for that later.” She held my shoulders, steadying me. “Right now we have a party to get to.”

**Author's Note:**

> Join me on our discord server dedicated to supporting writers: [Left to Write Writers Sanctuary](https://discord.gg/kKw2nXG)  
> Find me on Tumbler: [TOG84](https://tog84.tumblr.com/)


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